Born prematurely to a drug and alcohol addicted prostitute, Orlando Magic Executive Lucas Boyce could have easily become a statistic, but wisdom from his adoptive mom, hard work, determination, and opportunity, mixed with grace allowed him to make the most out of the cards he was dealt. (Photo Credit: 106foto)

By Ashley Cisneros

What started as seemingly a typical Monday during Lucas Daniel Boyce’s internship at the White House in spring 2002 quickly became a life-changing moment he’d remember forever. A photo opportunity presented itself for Boyce, then 22, to meet then President George W. Bush on the south lawn. They chatted briefly and Boyce posed in the group photo. He thought things couldn’t get any better. But they did. As Boyce began to walk away, he heard the President’s voice call him back for a personal photo. “I do the brother thing, and pulled him in for a hug and shook his hand,” Boyce recalls. There’s nothing that could top that experience, Boyce thought.

The next day at work, Boyce’s boss, Ed Moy, told Boyce that he made a real impression on the President the day before. “Hearing this, I got scared because I thought I did something wrong,” Boyce says. “It turns out, President Bush called my boss over after a meeting in the Oval Office to ask about me. He wanted to know my story, and the president asked him, ‘Well, what can we do for him? Let’s bring him onboard.’ ”

When hard work, opportunity and determination meet with grace, anything can happen, says Boyce, who served as Executive Assistant to the Counselor to the Vice President, Deputy Associate Director of the Office of Public Liaison, and Associate Director of the Office of Political Affairs at the White House. His promotions at the White House led to his current executive role as Director of Community Relations, Multicultural Insights and Government Affairs for the Orlando Magic. Now only 32 years old, Boyce was barely 29 when hired to an executive position with the Orlando Magic. He was chosen as one of 10 Outstanding Young Americans by the Junior Chamber of Commerce (Jaycees), as a Community Ambassador for the McDonald’s McCafe program, and serves on numerous boards. Boyce is also an accomplished author, speaker and businessman. But Boyce’s story began much humbler.

Modest BeginningsBorn prematurely in Kansas City, Missouri, to a drug-and-alcohol addicted prostitute, Boyce could have easily become a statistic. That is, until he was sent to the loving home of foster care parent and later adoptive mom, Dorothy Boyce. “I could have very easily had more disabilities or been severely handicapped as a result of my biological mother’s actions,” Boyce says. “But as Psalm 139 says, God covers us in our mother’s womb. I will never be able to repay God for his grace.” A believer that everyone is built for something more and made in the image of God, Dorothy adopted 6 children, including Lucas. She had four of her own as well. “That same scripture says that we are fearfully and wonderfully made and my mom adopted a lot of different children who are all perfect in our own little way,” Boyce says. His mother instilled this idea into Boyce when he was a child, especially when developmental delays caused him to struggle in school and flunk kindergarten. Dorothy shared with him her two keys of success, the first being that you can do anything you put your mind to, but you have to believe it first.

Lucas at six years old with his mother Dorothy Boyce and ten siblings.

“The best example I can use for this is boiling water. At 211 degrees, water is just hot. It’s only when it’s at 212 degrees that it becomes boiling water that can become steam, and steam can power a locomotive. If you’re willing to live life at 212 degrees, you can be successful,” Boyce says. “There are a lot of people who function at 180 degrees or maybe 200, but they’re not willing to turn up the heat and do whatever it takes to get the job done. My mother couldn’t guarantee success, but she could guarantee that the likelihood of success would increase greatly if I lived at a higher level.”